“How many young people are using it is debatable, and obviously what’s really important is we get some really good statistics around this and some really good records so we know exactly what we’re dealing with, but it’s enough to be showing some concern.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “We expect social media companies to have robust processes in place to act promptly to remove content and user accounts that do not comply with their own policies.”

An Instagram spokesman said: “Buying or selling drugs is prohibited on Instagram and these accounts have been removed.”

A Facebook spokesman said the accounts had been removed, adding: “Buying or selling drugs of any sort is not allowed on Facebook.”

Both sites urged users to report such activity using the site’s reporting tools.

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